Without much thought, he answered with a cruel smile: "It’s simple, you all die together, isn’t it?"
With that, he no longer concealed his aura, releasing it entirely.
The oppressive feeling, like that of a primordial beast, instantly enveloped the entire area, hanging over everyone’s heads.
Third-tier Middle Stage, power of the "Dragon Elephant"!
"...What’s going on?"
"This aura... is this still Yin Hu?"
"Something’s off, why does he have such presence?"
In an instant, the crowd was shocked, blurting out in amazement.
It seemed everyone knew that this taciturn, ruthless Yin Hu was supposedly a "criminal" at the phase of "Prison Director" in the Third Stage.
But now, the one exposing such an aura turned out to be a huge "Dragon Elephant," completely mismatched with any Extraordinary Profession.
What did this imply?
It meant he wasn’t Yin Hu at all!
Although the people of the Red Emperor Army didn’t have deep connections with those from the Annihilation Association, they were colleagues taking on dangerous missions together, so how could they know nothing about each other?
Just one glance was enough for them to recognize that this Yin Hu in front of them was an impostor!
With that, no one hesitated further, and without a second thought, they encircled Xu Shu.
Even though they were ambushed and their Great Commander was struck down to an uncertain fate, they remained calm, as each of them was skilled, and they had strength in numbers.
The leaders drew their large swords and plunged them into the ground, chanting slightly, and a surge of holy aura blossomed forth.
In an instant, enormous Pentagram Formations descended with a rumbling sound, one after another, layering two of them consecutively.
They had come here for battle, and this "Revelation Array" had been prepared for a long time; at this moment, it activated instantly, capturing Xu Shu within!
Seeing this, Xu Shu seemed to be wary, transmitting the message, "Take action!"
This was a signal for Xiao Ya in the shadows that it was time to act, with no need to hide any longer!
As soon as he finished speaking, the void before him suddenly fluctuated.
Then, unexpectedly, a massive cannon barrel with a diameter exceeding half a meter emerged from the air, slightly inclined downwards!
Its golden hue, nearly transparent body was engraved with various intricate and bizarre inscriptions, its dark muzzle seemingly leading to an abyss.
As intense light boiled up, a small glimmer appeared inside the cannon.
Initially only the size of an egg, like a flicker of candlelight, it rapidly expanded, filling the entire cannon barrel, almost to the point of bursting.
Seeing the candlelight overflow within the barrel, it began collapsing inwardly, returning to the size of an egg.
By then, it had transformed into a glaring white point, more dazzling than the sun, seemingly about to consume the surrounding air.
"Mechanical Expert," "Void Annihilation Cannon"!
Suddenly, all the people from the Red Emperor Army were stunned.
Both the Holy Knights who formed the array and the artillery support teams clad in exoskeletons raised their heads, mouths agape, incredulous at the terrifying aura gathering inside the cannon.
It seemed to strip away temperature, to strip away sound.
The massive oppressive feeling, like a dragon’s breath, lay over everyone like dark clouds.
"..."
Xu Shu was also stunned; the aura from the cannon made even him palpitate immensely, its power beyond words.
But what was Xiao Ya doing?
Was she going to blow him up along with everyone else?
Why had she never used such a potent weapon before?
Damn it!
For some reason, at this moment, the first thought that popped into Xu Shu’s mind wasn’t "my teammates are strong, this is secure," but rather an inexplicable image of a flat-chested yet high-damage woman, Lu Bingwei, nicknamed "Flat as a Board."
He immediately changed his mind, adopting the crab walk, ready to escape using the "Nine Paths of One" to become invisible.
This would be the first time using the skill to dodge attacks from his own team!
This thought had just flashed by.
Not far away, within the range of "Spiritual Sensing," a shadowy whisper emerged from another spot with dots of converging color.
"Sneaky, sneaky, who did I think it was? Turns out it’s Junior Sister Su Xian! Following Senior Brother all the way here, hmph, where’s Yu Mingluan? Why are you afraid to come out and see me!"
It was Voodoo, also hidden, also a "Mechanical Expert."
However, though his retort seemed rather domineering, it somehow gave off an evasive feeling, as if he had waited, confirmed, for a long time before finally speaking.
Of course, this feeling didn’t last long. As he spoke, Voodoo snapped his fingers: snap!
At once, a strange blur spread through the air as though someone had applied pixelation to it.
This mosaic-like blur jumped and twisted, seemingly following an invisible path, eventually covering—or rather plastering over—that golden cannon, obscuring a large part.
Crack!
The "Void Annihilation Cannon" that had been humming and on the brink of firing suddenly went silent, and a bizarre, piercing whistling sound emanated continuously from within the barrel.
The whistling sound was quite distinctive, like the wailing of a computer under virus attack.
Following closely, a high-pitched feminine voice rang coldly through the air, and similarly, a large mosaic of blurs erupted from nowhere, entering from the rear of the cannon barrel.
Soon, these two mosaics tangled and clashed on the cannon barrel, akin to two armies made of countless unattainable little figures fighting, the shouts shaking the heavens.
This was a peak duel between "Mechanical Experts"!
Such a battle was incredibly arcane, with onlookers unable to intervene, as they couldn’t comprehend what was being fought, which tactics were being used, or where the participants were hidden—even though this was a battle where their true selves were physically present, the "Mechanical Experts" style remained extraordinarily peculiar until their hiding spots were discovered.
This continued for about half a minute, and the mosaics emitted by the two supreme figures were still locked in a deadlock, with electrical crackling sounds flashing through the air.
"..."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Then, out of nowhere, someone shouted, "Damn it, kill them all," prompting the rest of the Holy Knights to react and continue leading the array, chanting rapidly.
The formations they chose were "Revelation Twelve: Born as Slaves," "Revelation Zero Seven: Sin of Perjury," "Revelation Zero Four: Wailing to Heaven."
As a response,
A full three Pentagrams were layered over Xu Shu and potentially Ouyang Suxian inside.
For a moment, eerie sulfur columns spread, invisible whips lashed at the entities themselves to bind, and a massive torrent of sorrow tried to fill Xu Shu’s heart, subduing his will to resist.
Various sins inexplicably burdened him, and numerous punishments loomed like impending doom.
With these triple arrays augmented, once fully restrained, Xu Shu would be inescapable, with no means to run!
Yet, at the critical moment, Xu Shu wasn’t in a hurry to avoid it. Instead, he calmly took out the small jade Buddha, pressing at its key point.
"Right..."
"Om Mani Padme—I beseech Amitabha!"
As Xu Shu activated his Primordial Spirit, the air resounded with an eerie chanting even louder, even more bizarre than that of the Holy Knights.
Having been trapped by "Revelation" formations multiple times before, Xu Shu had become familiar with handling the situation, immediately opting for extreme measures: Life-taking Mantra!
Of course, his feet maintained a degree of readiness to escape the formation using the "Nine Paths of One."
This was his contingency in case the Life-taking Mantra’s power, dispersed due to the sheer number of foes, couldn’t interrupt them in time.
In that situation, Xu Shu still had a means of self-rescue.
"Damn it... what is this thing!"
Under the shock of the Life-taking Mantra, everyone began a grotesque struggle against their own clothes and ties.
At that moment—a furious, extreme roar emerged suddenly from the distant ruins, rushing swiftly to the forefront.
"Xu Shu!!"
"So it was you!!!"